Italian scientists believe they have cracked the secret to cooking a "perfect" boiled egg.
Researchers at the University of Naples Federico II used computer simulations to find a method that cooked the egg yolk and white evenly and with a consistent texture, before putting it into practice against conventional methods.
They said conventional methods could lead to inconsistent outcomes because the white and yolk in chicken eggs cook at different temperatures, 85C and 65C, respectively.
"Conventional methods for cooking eggs by hard-boiling at 100 degrees Celsius result in the yolk being fully set, while cooking them at temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees Celsius in a water bath for one hour (a method known as sous vide) leaves the white undercooked," they said.
The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Communications Engineering, used simulations to fry up a method called "periodic cooking", which they claimed "yields an evenly-cooked egg with a higher nutritional content than shell-on eggs cooked by conventional boiling or sous vide methods".
The method consisted of moving an egg between a pan of boiling water and a bowl at 30C every two minutes for 32 minutes.
After trialling it with real eggs, the researchers compared the result to hard-boiled, soft-boiled, and sous vide eggs.
They found periodically cooked eggs had a soft yolk like that of a sous vide egg, while the consistency of the white was "somewhere between that of sous vide and soft-boiled".
"It appears that the design of the novel cooking method, namely periodic cooking, was carried out successfully," they said.
"Analysis of the colour, texture, and consistency of all the egg products was only the final proof of a successful cooking experiment."
Alongside the consistent texture, the researchers also said the method preserved more nutrients.
"Chemical analysis suggested that the periodically-cooked egg yolks also contained more polyphenols — micronutrients which have been explored for their health benefits," they said.
The researchers hoped their experiment might help inspire "new fancy recipes" and said it proved "how knowledge of the science behind simple problems can improve even the slightest bits of our daily life, like the simple act of eating an egg".
Food scientist Joanne Slavin from the University of Minnesota told Associated Press that the new technique could mean more time in the kitchen, but could be worth the extra time.
“This is a slower process to get a better outcome,” said Slavin, who had no role in the study.
SHARE ME